I'm really seriously looking at getting this, anyone have opinions on it? Pros/cons would be appreciated, I've never had a Strat besides a cheap Squire and I don't really feel like that counts.
Just wondering, since I know theres a good many Strat and Fender players on here.
It has a v neck and I highly recommend them. however it has the vintage tuners and I hate those suckers. also, has the old frets and I like a bit meaty frets on a fender it suits them better. Idk about the pick-ups no experience.
still has those tuners (**s)[or maybe it doesn't maybe they change them, has a new name??]. I find the pick-ups to be adequate. also has a larger radius, maybe a problem if you looking for the easy chords and Hendrix like stuff, but 9.5 still is in that range and you don't have to have the action sky high to keep it from buzzing.
don't know if it worth it but it funny how that have the same guitar over and over.
And just for reference I have played the classic player. I like the Series, and they generally come out at good quality. I went with the tele at the end though.
Also I like to add the whole Idea behind the "classic player" series is to give the classic specs but put the modern spin on them to make them a "player" guitar not just eye candy or a table peace. much better philosophy then say the "road worn" series and I get the feel the "classic" one is more of a "road worn", haven't tied it though if a didn't mention that, so your the judge in the end, I'm just going on specs and past experiences.
Joined: 01 Oct 2008 United States Licks: 1 Karma: 18
I plan on going to a store sometime and trying to play one. I want one that's just a black finish with the maple fingerboard though so the classic player is out. The '57 is what I want more, but seeing how I've heard good things about the V neck from a lot of people, and the looks are basically the same, I leaned more toward the series 50.
Why don't you like the vintage style tuners? Are they less reliable?
Joined: 25 Jul 2007 United States Lessons: 12 Licks: 42 Karma: 38 Moderator
While it certainly looks very nice, I am not a fan.
CONS:
1) I prefer the "thin U-shaped" neck over the "V" style.
2) 21 Frets? That's just bogus - Unless we are talking Telecasters
3) Vintage tuners + tremelo = Bad idea. Crappy tuners wouldn't stop me from buying a guitar though, you could just buy "locking" tuners to go with it
4) Single coil pickups just aren't my cup of tea. I find it very difficult to play with single coils when I am so used to EMG's or another type of humbucking pickup
5) I just don't like Stratocasters.
PROS:
1) The "Classic 50's style" guitars are the bread and butter for both Fender and Gibson (i.e. - I hate most Les Pauls, but the Les Paul's with the 50's style neck are beastly guitars.
diffidently go and try them out if you can, just don't write out the "classic player" yet just for color, I can almost grantee it is a much better guitar. the series is one of fender best and most affordable.
as for the tuners. Just think about it, do you want old style gears you have to lube and are less sensitive, or newer smoother modern tuners. Like GS It wouldn't stop me and it didn't (I bought the tele) just an added expense; in year at lest you will rip them off.
the American vintage 57 was a joke. fender is still a reputable company and has good models, but some of there marketing just abuses people. though that is the nature of the old "Vintage" market; a lot of it is utterly pointless.
Also, I found the strat I almost bought. I found it to be the best at the time I was in the market but in the end I went with a Tele. It is a bit more but you wont be sorry.
As a side note I haven't played a standard American since 2008. Have they gotten any better? I hated the whole series.
Also As for radius, if all you have ever played are 12" and above the 7.25" maybe a bit of a shock. So when trying them out keep track of what has what out of the models.
Joined: 17 Mar 2011 United States Lessons: 1 Licks: 15 Karma: 15
@ozz is it a replica or an actual model from the past?
im a huge fan of vintage guitars and im on the hunt for some of them(old fender, ibanez, gibson, kramer before gibson bought them, etc.)...so far i found an 80's telecaster valued at 8000...i would get a replica or a reissue but its not the same
@gs124 haha i hate strats too...well except one...the only strat im actually looking for that ill play is an HM strat...but i think that your "cons" are more opinionated than factual. not everyne feels the same way about one guitar...unless some good or bad things about it are definite, like the tuners and the bridge thing.
Joined: 01 Oct 2008 United States Licks: 1 Karma: 18
Guitarslinger, I haven't played around with enough V necks to base an opinion. I've only owned one, which was a Dean ML, but I didn't like the actual guitar as a whole so it biased me a bit. As for the rest, it is just opinion. I love humbuckers as well, but I've heard some great tones out of both, so I'm not that worried. Plus I still have my Marshall, so if it sounds bad, it won't be TOO bad. ;D
Tele, Yeah, that's what I plan on doing when I can. I'm trying to con dad into making a trip somewhere and letting me get my money out of the bank. It's just a pain to do because all the local guitar stores mainly carry offbrands aside from what they by used from customers, which are usually just as bad.
RA, I'm just not sure on the tuner thing dude. I believe you about the vintage style of them and everything, but I've played my friends Mustang (from 1962) which obviously had the vintages tuners and it stays in tune fine throughout each show. He actually says it stays in tune better than the ES-335 he has which has Grovers. I'll just have to get the feel for them when I can, like everything else haha.
V3NOM, no it's just a re-issue from the 50s that uses the same specs.
I'm not so sure about the V neck and a 7.5in radius either. It's comfortable to hold and plays chords easily. I like U shape and a 12in radius. Not as comfortable for chords but better for soloing. If you want it for blues and jazz and mostly chords it's awesome. Not a great guitar for metal or shreddin.
Joined: 17 Mar 2011 United States Lessons: 1 Licks: 15 Karma: 15
@tsb im holding an ibanez rg370dx.......the shape suggests that its a "super strat", but IMO ibanez is the dominant brand in guitars today...probably because fender guitars aren't made for metal........i want old strats for collection purposes though.
Joined: 03 Sep 2010 United States Licks: 3 Karma: 22
I think with the vintage tuner thing,its
that Those old tuners on the mustang,weren't
made to replicate old stuff,thats how they were
made back then,and they were made damn fine.
There is no way you can capture a vintage sound
out of a modern made instrument.They didnt have
super advanced machines in the 50's,they had luthiers
who actually cared about craftsmanship.They had different
electronics,stains,wood,technology etc.
They only way to get a vintage strat sound is to buy a vintage
strat made in the 50's,not one were they try to replicate
past glories of sound,by trying to make it with old specs
And a lo-fi sound.Plus im biased and dont buy into mordern made
vintage replica's. Buy a new guitar,not a wannabe old one.
Venom; I think Kirk Hammett played a Fender Strat, you may not like his little rock group, but they seem metal enough. the Ibanez is a strat. Is the middle pickup very good for metal?
ozzfan: i have a made in Mexico fender strat from the early 90's. i like it. It feels like a great combination of a speedy neck and easy fretting. it has a c neck so i can't comment on the V shape neck. You can get a mim and get a stacked humbucker for when you want to beef it up.
Those choices of guitar you show above are pretty sweet. How did you decide to look for a reissue?
First,ozz,you should really play it and see by yourself,specially the neck,i rather have thinner necks (and maple fingerboard of course,if you buy anything called strat,you want to keep it strat, with single coils and maple) the neck,to me,is too big for shred and stuff like that,but thinner necks promote fatigue specially when chording.
Play with it,feel it,then buy it,if not,there are tons of other strats out there,i really like my Mexican made one,is the same thing as an american standar,but made in mexico.
I doubt ozzfan wants a perfect vintage tone for living in the 60's like a true hippie,he just wants a cool strat with an strat tone,a guitar that feels comfortable.
Vintage instruments are sought after for a reason,vintage replicas are done to satisfy the demand,to replicate the feel of a vintage guitar (hence the neck settings,pups,tuners etc..) and yes,there are luthiers doing the job,the wiring,the wood selection etc,you think fender is a one man corp full of robots? and neither old guitars or new guitars have lo fi sound i can assure you.
Venom,ibanez are not the dominant brand today,yes,they are mainstream (hipster ew) because most models,like your RG370,are "superstrats" but with ** specs,pickups suck,trem sucks,tons of things suck on low end ibanez,but they are affordable,flashy and are everywhere,just like when fender was (is) the leading brand of guitars
Oh and for both
Heavy Metal played with a Fender from 1971 loaded with Texas Special Pick ups
Joined: 17 Mar 2011 United States Lessons: 1 Licks: 15 Karma: 15
@alexb i thought chris impelliteri used the charvel guitars that looked like strats except it had a floyd and DiMarzio PU's. i think its called a charvel 500 or something. and plus....werent the HM strats made around this time(im askin u because i dont know)
@tsb i use that middle PU when im playin clean....only when i play clean
Nope,the info comes directly from Chris ( i used to talk with him some years ago frequently,he barely knew how to use internet lol) He used 3 main guitars,2 fender from the 70's fitted with Texas Specials/stock Pick ups (switched frequently, a red one and a sunburst style one + replicas with these settings) and another extra fitted with a humbucker from 1959,this was special and had a floyd rose, and a Gibson les Paul but no one cared about that one,he has been photographed with these 2 frequently
Joined: 01 Oct 2008 United States Licks: 1 Karma: 18
Alex, yeah I didn't want to stray from single coils and a maple neck. I just think it looks coolest tbh. And exactly about the vintage tone thing, I just want something I can jam with and sounds good. I'm not really worried about getting a super-metal tone, or any tone. It's Fender, so I trust it to not sound very bad through a Marshall stack, or my other Fender amp for that matter. :p
TSB, that Mustang and ES-335 are what the lead player in my uncle's bluegrass band has, I'm not looking into buying those. The ES-335 has a cool story though. His sister was walking home form work one night and saw something really red and shiny in a dumpster around the local music shop. She went and got it and brought it back to his house, so he got a free Gibson, and just had to clean it up a bit. Apparently someone tried to steal it and didn't get far, so they stashed it haha.
Venom; I think Kirk Hammett played a Fender Strat, you may not like his little rock group, but they seem metal enough. the Ibanez is a strat. Is the middle pickup very good for metal?
this is a SUBJECTIVE AREA OF DISCUSSION and i hate when it comes up. i can't tell you how many punk bands, rock bands, metal bands, etc. use stratocasters or telecasters for a distorted sound. on paper, single pickups aren't "metal" compared to high output humbuckers. yeah, ON PAPER. but this is music we're talking about and there is no such thing as black and white.
i have an ibanez artcore with high output humbuckers. the thing can get very gain-ey and it's a great punk rock guitar if you are playing things like rancid or weezer (blue album's distorted parts). on the other hand, the stratocaster's bridge single coil pickup is really good at emulating the sound from fugazi's "public witness program" (despite the fact that guy and ian use a ric and an SG respectively)
the point is i can name 20 punk/hard rock/metal songs who use a stratocaster OR telecaster for their distorted sound. i like the distorted sound out of my strat. it's not the SAME as a humbucker, but it's not WORSE. it's just different.
so again this is a subjective area, and i don't like it when people imply that single pickups aren't suitable for high-gain output distortion.
Joined: 01 Oct 2008 United States Licks: 1 Karma: 18
Well everyone, I went to a (actually two different) Guitar Centers, and tried out a Strat, and didn't like it. The sound was good, I just don't like the feel. I think it's back to the drawing board of wanting a Les Paul. I think the closest thing that I've played that's felt as good would be a Tele, and imo, yes, they can be used very efficiently for pretty much any type of music. :p
Joined: 17 Mar 2011 United States Lessons: 1 Licks: 15 Karma: 15
@tsb yea i actually wasnt thinking when i said that lol..typing too fast
@ozz im with you 100% on the les paul....im loking to see if i can find a 60's model(maybe later depending on which i find 1st)..i played a 60's reissue at sam ash and loved it, then i added the real one to my list
At the risk of sounding like a scratched record, If possible try out a G&L S500 (Strat) and a G&L ASAT (Tele). They were the last 'Leo' designed guitars of their class and arguably the best (IMO).
Hint. The Tribute by G&L versions are much cheaper and nearly as good (think American Strat/Tele Vs Mexican) which to my way of thinking will give you much more bang for your buck.
